Veteran journalist and deputy chief executive officer of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Ian Boyne was rushed to hospital on Sunday following a heart attack and is in a medically induced coma, a member of his family has confirmed.
Boyne, in his 60s, suffered a cardiac event last year.
“The family appreciates the concern of the public and asks for your continued prayers,” a brief statement from JIS said.
The highly respected and internationally acclaimed journalist whose career in all facets of media spans 30 years, is most known for his personality television series Profile — the longest running seasonal show on local television. It features successful and remarkable personalities, many of whom overcame significant hardships.
Profile celebrated 30 years this March, earning Boyne many accolades, including congratulations from Prime Minister Andrew Holness who said it was admirable that the programme, which represents “the power of good journalism”, was still on air when internationally, successful programmes rarely surpass 25 years.
Boyne, arguably a self-made success, published a book on the series in 2013 titled Profile of Excellence: Strategies for Extraordinary Achievement from 25 Years of Interviewing Remarkable People‘, co-written with author and motivational speaker Glenford Smith. At the time it was published, Boyne had already done 1,300 interviews on Profile.
The launch ceremony at King’s House on April 10, 2013 was peppered with high profile Jamaicans including then Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, and former prime ministers Edward Seaga and Bruce Golding.
Boyne is also popularly known for a weekly unorthodox television show Religious Hardtalk, newspaper columns, and other writings. He has also published Ideas Matter, a compilation of some of his print media work.
